PS 1764 
G27 S7 
1884 
Copy 1 




1 




3^ 



STANZA AND SEQUEL 



OTHER POEMS 



AELLA GREENE, 



AUTHOR OF 



** Rhymes of Yankee Land" and ^* Into the Sunshine. 






PUBLISHED IN 1884. 



>. V 






Copyright, 1883, 

BY 

AELLA GREENE. 



CLARK W. BPvYAN & COMPANY, 

ELECTROTYPERS, PRINTERS AND BINDERS, 

HOLYOKE, MASS. 



CONTENTS. 



Page 
Stanza and Sequel, 13-10 1 

Miscellaneous. 

"Where the Noble Have their Country." 105 

"Bright on your Native Hills." - . 106 

"She Placed the Bitter-Sweet." ^ loS 

Always with Thee 110 

Through Grief 11 1 

"Too many Hearts are Sad To-night." . 113 

Blessings for the Helpful. . . . 114 

The Forty-Second 115 

The Critics. 117 

The Retort. ,118 

Reminiscences — Esquire Smith and 

Others 119=142 



WORDS THAT WERE MEANT. 



Rev. a. C. Sewall, Williamstown, Mass. : 

Dear Sir : — If any should ask, you may inform them that you have 
not been consulted in reference to my alluding, thus publicly, to your 
words of cordial appreciation of my rhythmic work, words that came 
independent of the commendations of President Hopkins, Henry W. 
Longfellow and Josiah Gilbert Holland, and before that other seer 
and saint, John Greenleaf Whittier, and the present Irving of our 
country, Mr. Warner, had, unapprised of the opinions of others, 
honored specimens that work with their "well done." Your words 
and theirs, with more that followed from yourself and others, still glow 
with the lustre of that gem-like sincerity which leads to the belief that 
you and they intended even the high praise those words express, and 
aids the determination to despise flatteries and endure the harshness 
and prosiness of the Gradgrinds of earth ! 

Congratulating you on living in a town blessed with the personal 
presence of the majestic Hopkins and fragrant with the memories 
of the school-days of his illustrious disciple, James A. Garfield, and 
wishing you success in the work of your sacred calling, I am, with 
grateful acknowledgments to those whose hearty recognitions have 
cheered me, 

Always Yours Truly, 

Aella Greene, 

Springfield, Mass., November, 1883. 



The originals of but few of the characters in " Rhymes of 
Yankee Land," Mr. Greene's first book, have been ascertained ; but 
it is thought, that, in penning the stanzas in reference to the 
enterprise of New Englanders at the West, the writer must have 
had in mind the career, then just beginning, of Hon. Francis 
E. Warren of Wyoming, one of the most enterprising young 
men Berkshire county, Mass., ever sent to the outer world. — 
Bellmvs Falls ( Vt.) Times. 



IN REMEMBRANCE OF 



FRIENDS AT METAWAMPE^ 



AND OTHERS ELSEWHERE, 



THIS VOLUME 



RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED. 



ARGUMENT. 



At the opening of the poem appear two dramatis persona;, the 
poets Horatius and Ethelbert, the former a distinguished son of 
song and the other his friend who bravely endures the defeat of 
his ambitions in literature and his "fate unkind" in an affair of 
the heart. " Responsive to the summons " of Ethelbert, Horatius 
visits him at his place of summer sojourn, in the vicinity of the 
Housatonic river, in Berkshire, and, to cheer him 'in his griefs, 
compliments him for his heroism in bearing them, discourses to him 
of the singing of the brooks, with which that lovely region is 
charmingly resonant, and 

" When rivulets with singing, 
Have cheered Ethelbert's heart," 
takes him, in imagination, from Berkshire to the Connecticut valley 
and the landscapes "which Metawampe guards," and in which is 
laid the scene of a story that is recited by Horatius, with the hope 
that it prove ominous of a bright future for Ethelbert. The narrative 
brings to date the eventful career of the hero and heroine, Leon and 
Lillian, who that very day have embarked for foreign lands. They 
however, unexpectedly, appear on the scene, and following the 
presentation of Ethelbert to the newly arrived, there is " revealing 
on revealing," and Horatius, the glad beholder of the early fulfill- 



ARGUMENT. 

ment of his own prophecies, in the unexpected meeting of Ethelbert 
and his long lost friend Estelle, soon joyfully announces to Ethel- 
bert still another discovery, in which the latter finds that a forgotten 
act of his has become, under Providence, and through the faithful- 
ness of the heroine Lillian in "following her intuitions" and- 
" making real the ideal," the source of all his joy; and in this 
discovery the reader learns the reason for the name of the poem. 
Then follows an allusion to a feast to be prepared by Lillian, at 
the suggestion of Leon, "to mark events resulting from sentiments," 
and the poem concludes with Leon's suggesting the fitness of the 
nearing October for the wedding of the reunited lovers, and his 
invitation to them to accompany Lillian and himself as they shall 
go, in that month, 

"To thread the glens of Scotland 

And climb the Alpine hight ; 
And linger in the castles 
That rose by feudal nnght." 



PROEM. 

If, sore discouraged and distressed, 
With sorrows and with cares oppressed, 
And sins confessed, and unconfessed, 
And every ill, 

The heart were struggling for relief. 
And found no succor from its grief, 
In buoyant trust, and bright belief,— 
How sad the earth ! 

But rules reverse of these obtain, 
Nor mortal suffered yet in vain, 
A trivial, nor the largest pain, 
Nor ever will. 

So let the troubled take new heart. 
Learn well of suffering the ar% 
Nor shun a share a generous part 
In life's good griefs ! 

The saddest his of all estates. 
And slave is he to dreadest fates, 
And farthest he from heavenly gates, 
Whom doubt doth rule ! 

But, sad one, if thou triest to trust, 
In spite of all earth's dark and dust,— 
Though midst them living, as thou must. 
Thou liv'st above, — 



PROEM. 



Then fiends that strive shall strive in vain 
Control of thy good soul to gain, 
And Hope, true angel, for thee deign 
Her constant aid. 

For none hath God the tender care 
He ever shows for those who bear 
Or life's worst woes abundant share, 
Enduring well. 

Enduring gives the power t'endure, 
With skill to make life s troubles fewer. 
And suffering makes the sufferer pure, — 
* So welcome ill. 

Bright after clouds there comes the sun, 
And sweetest rest when work is done, 
True peace is but by warring won, — 
True wealth by toil ! 

How blessed is the bright belief. 
That joy which cometh after grief, 
Is sweetest joy, and is not brief, 
Like other joys ! 

Inspiring, grand and true the thought, 
That bliss by bitter trials bought, 
Is nearer unto heaven than aught 
On earth beside ! 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

Horaiius. 

COMPANION of my boyhood 
And friend of all my years, 
Sublimely well enduring 

Woes all too deep for tears ; 
Responsive to your summons, 

I come to share your grief, 
To rhyme in reminiscence 

And sing a bright belief; 
Predicting you soon finding 

The dawn succeed the night. 
If thorns, likewise the roses, 

And after wrong the right ! 

Away from scenes of traffic. 
Away from business cares, 

In which you toil so bravely 
To kill the grief that wears, 

Only to find, in toiling, 
The work of no avail ; 



14 STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

You come to ask of nature 
A balm that will not fail. 

Among the Berkshire mountains 
Where nature does its best 

To aid the tired and grieving 
With satisfying rest, 

You come, my loved Ethelbert, 

Sighing at every breath. 
Yet glowing with high purpose 

To battle to the death 
The griefs so fiercely gnawing 

The heart of one as brave 
As he, all uncomplaining, 

Imperiled land to save, 
Who risks amid red carnage, 

With willingness, his life, 
And joys to be called worthy 

To perish in the strife. 

This excellence of patience 
Is foretaste, in the grief, 
Prophetic of fruition, 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 15 

Quick after the belief, 
That, tribulation suffered, 

With bravery and love, 
And faith that says the Father 

Sends trials from above. 
Grief's fiends shall flee, and (^ngels 

Unlock the gates of light 
And usher in the morning. 

To follow sorrow's night. 



Ethelbert, near these mountains 

The hamlet of your birth, 
That seemed to you, in childhood, 

The loveliest spot of earth; 
Where all the days of winter 

Were happy days for you, 
However wild the drifting 

Of snowy storms that blew; 
And happy was the spring-time, 

And days of summer bloom 
Poured joys until for others 

Your heart had not the room. 



l6 STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

When fiercest heat was over, 

And on the pasture hill 
The steers, rid of their tackle, 

Were left to feed at will; 
And orchards bent with pippins 

Around a buckwheat field 
That gave a fragrant promise 

Of an abundant yield, 
Delightful then your dreaming, 

As August waned away, 
When seemed the hours half summer, 

And autumn, still, the day. 



Then mornings all, and sunsets, 

To you were choicest gold, 
And days with joys were brimming 

As full as days could hold. 
Ah ! sweet and fairy valley ! 

Where birds and purling streams, 
Cascades and hill-side forests, 

Excelled your brightest dreams; 
Where poet might sing sweetest. 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 1 7 

With scene above the psahn 
Affording hearts the saddest 
Sufficing rest and balm. 

And, still, to you, 'tis fiction 

To name the hamlet blest, 
Though there began your being, 

And there your kindred rest; 
And there your days were halcyon 

With skies of peaceful hue. 
And seemed the good translated 

No happier than you ! 
For there, a little later. 

The sadness must begin. 
The sweet of life turn bitter, 

Its melody be din ; 



And all its pleasant castles 
Be crumbled into dust ; 

And this, because they doubted 
Who should have given trust. 

Ah well do I remember, 



1 3 STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

You had a darkened sky; 
My angel of good blessing, 

Appeared to pass you by. 
The wreck of your ambitions 

It needeth not to tell ; 
I For all the doleful story 

Your sad heart knows too well. 



Ethelhert. 
Those words " because they doubted 

Who should have given trust!'' 
O doubt, that quenches morning! 

O doubt, to gold the rust ! 
Was ever soul in sadness 

But through another's doubt.? 
Was ever soul defeated. 

Suspicion caused the rout! 



Horatius. 

Not winning in your wooing 
Nor famous for your pen, 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 19 

You Still kept faith in heaven, 

Though losing faith in men ; 
And still lived ever noble, 

Or was it day, or dark, 
Your god appeased or frowning, 

A raven or a lark, 
Your bird ; and now, slow starving 

For joys of love, yet strong; 
Sad, almost unto dying. 

Yet, patient under wrong! 



Ethelbert. 
Fit praises thine for heroes ; 

Too high for men like me. 
My heart must still accept them 

For their sincerity. 
And thanking thee for giving 

The trust I needed long 
From others than Horatius, 

I ask of him a song; 
His own sweet, soul-felt, singing. 



20 STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

To keep the hope rJive, 
Which he, in tune with nature, 
Has made again revive. 



Horatius. 
The sweetest songsters carol. 

Among these Berkshire hills, 
In harmony with music 

Arising from the rills 
That flow with silvery murmur, 

In melody along, 
And charm as if in heaven 

They learned the art of song, 
And were by Him empowered 

Who formed the starry spheres 
And guides their rhythmic motion 

Through all the circling years. 

Bright brooks ! they came from heaven. 

To teach the tuneful art, 
And woo men from their sorrows 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 21 

And from their cares apart ; 
To teach them high behavior, 

And gentle ways and true, 
Inspiring them with courage 

To fight life's battles through; 
The while, through all the harshness 

That gives to earth its ban, 
They live attuned for living 

Where harmony began. 



There other brooks, in chorus 

With other birds, shall sing. 
To tell the power and goodness 

Of the Eternal King; 
And welcome home the singers 

From dissonance of time 
To melodies of heaven 

And zephyrs of the clime. 
Where, with the golden city. 

Shall be the pleasant field ; 
The tree of life forever 

Its healthful fruitage yield ; 



22 STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

The hillside and the forest, 

And rocky glen, be there, 
And highest angel escort 

Delight to give their care 
To those who come to study, 

In leisure of that land, 
The features of the country 

Which sin has never banned. 
May one among the number 

Be you who love the rills 
That carol like the songsters 

Among these restful hills. 



When rivulets with singing 

Have cheered Ethelbert's heart 
May angel guide attend him. 

That, when he hence depart, 
He journey to the eastward. 

To hills that poet sung 
The grandeur of whose numbers 

Honors our English tongue. 
Inhaling rarest zephyrs 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 23 

To make the spirit strong ; 
With feet in tune with cadence 
Of Bryant's noble song, 

Which thou shalt hear repeated 

By tuneful brooks and birds, 
As if the bard walked with thee, 

To speak his own grand words, 
Ascend the heights o'erlooking 

The homes of Cummington, 
Ensconced below the hill-side 

Where Bryant's life begun. 
When thou hast done due worship 

Ascend still other height, 
And vale of rarest beauty 

Shall meet thy raptured sight! 

There sweet a shining river 

Flows singing to the sea, 
And purls with charming cadence 

Where smiling landscapes be, 
Gemmed bright with pleasant mansions. 



24 STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

In form and look that seem 
The counterpart of castles 

That fill youth's brightest dream. 
There, sentineled by mountains, 

The vale its verdure spreads. 
When, cheering after winter, 

The May sun radiance sheds ; 

And orange, flame and crimson. 

And wealth of dun and gold 
The hardy mountain beeches 

And valley maples hold. 
When frost and autumn sunshine 

Their chemistry have done, 
In glorious competition 

Of work the spring begun ; 
And there, within that valley. 

In other days, a scene 
That fills with choicest fragrance 

The years that intervene. 

That lovely scene shall ever 
The river, glade, and glen 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

Invest with charms of romance, 

And witness unto men 
The bravery of a maiden, 

Who so could say "forgive," 
That one whom she deserted 

Bade the repentant live, 
And be his inspiration, 

A consort and a mate ; 
A token that kind heaven 

Would help him conquer fate. 

And ne'er did lordly courtier, 

The bravest and the best, 
On love's ennobling errand, 

From royal halls, in quest 
Of one to match the visions 

With which the gods inspire. 
Who with celestial courage 

The manly bosom fire, 
To do the grandest wooing. 

Find such transcendent worth 
As crowns the name of Lillian 

The brightest of the earth! 



26 STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

Thy loveliness, sweet valley, 

Which Metawampe guards, 
Hath now especial meaning 

Above the song of bards. 
Dear vale! whose faithful maiden 

Rebelled against her kin, 
Until they bade him welcome 

Who sought her heart to win 
That maiden's ways heroic 

Have made the sunrise shore 
Of thy majestic river 

Inspiring evermore ; 



The fair3'-land where angels 

Attend when lovers wait 
And aid the thoughts surpassing 

All else however great ; 
While happy faces, mirrored. 

Reflect the thoughts of love 
Aglow upon the features 

Of each glad face, above 
The kindly waters, reading. 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 2^ 

In limpid river blue, 
That each heart loves the other, 
And will for life be true. 

Land of the sweet romances ! 

Therein, the legends say, 
Bright ministrants of heaven. 

On silver nights of May, 
Expectant in an arbor, 

Wait with the words that save 
From cowardice the lover 

And make the maiden brave ; 
And when the pledge is spoken 

To crown love's high emprise, 
They soar from Metawampe, 

To tell the waiting skies ! 



In honor of the maiden 

Who, quenching one heart's hell, 
For two hearts made earth, heaven. 

The scene he bids me tell 
I sing, to cheer Ethelbert, 



28 STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

To whom a fate unkind, 
Anent the noble passion; 

And if Ethelbert find 
The scene at Metawampe 

To him good omen brings, 
Thrice happy his companion 

Of Metawampe sings : 



While cheering light 
Of morning bright 
O'er eastern height is glowing, 

And choicest flowers 
In any bowers 
Or any landscape growing, 

Their sweets exhale, 
To fill the gale 
Soft on the valley blowing, 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 29 

Thou sweetest bird 
Mine ears have heard, 
Whose liquid music, flowing, 

Hath magic charms 
To still alarms. 
The sweetest peace bestowing, 

On fleetest wing 
Fly thou, and sing, 
To cheer a brave heart bearing 

A load of grief 
Beyond belief, 
Beyond an angel's daring; 

Though worn and faint, 
Giving no plaint, 
But brave on life's road faring; 

Through griefs, discreet, 
With spirit sweet. 
Well worth an angel's sharing. 



30 STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

Sing, bird of cheer ! 
So he shall hear 
Above earth's loudest blaring; 

And sing again 
To cheer him, when 
Noon's fervid heats are burning; 

Assure him well 
That thou wilt tell, 
Ere next the noon's returning, 

In thy best tune, 
That some sweet boon 
Shall soothe the plaintive yearning 

Of his sad heart, 
As he, the art 
Of grand endurance learning, 

Seeks only joy 
Which doth not cloy, 
All vain enjoyment spuming. 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 3 1 

Then, sweetest bird 
Mine ears have heard, 
When sunset's wealth is streaming, 

In western skies. 
To glad the eyes 
And set the spirit dreaming 

Of Ind of old 
Or towers of gold 
With heavenly splendors beaming, 

Sing once again. 
And tell him when. 
Thy pledge in truth redeeming, 

Thou bringest joy, 
It shall not cloy 
Nor be less than its seeming: ! 



The world to bless 
With his success. 
By grand impulses driven, 



32 STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

Leon to art 
His head and heart, 
Through toilsome years, had given; 

To win a name 
And merit fame, 
Most manfully had striven; 

Not thought of ease. 
Nor wish to please, 
From purpose firm unnerving ; 

And painted well 
Both flood and fell, 
A high reward deserving. 

But Fashion bold. 
By threats and gold, 
The coward critics swerving, 

They named him cheap. 
And much and deep 
They planned to shame and grieve him. 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. ^ 33 

And Fashion's queen, 
High in her spleen, 
Induced that one to leave him 

Who vowed, by skies 
And stars, to prize 
And never to deceive him. 

For fiat dread 
By Fashion said 
Receives a quick obeying, 

Though Fashion ask 
Laborious task. 
Or even ask the slaying 

Of sweetest dove 
The God of love 
E'er sent to earth, conveying 

A message down. 
With joy to crown 
Two hearts their pledges saying. 



,4 STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

To whim accursed, 
By mother nursed, 
Who hoped her Lillian mating 

With one of fame 
Who had, with name, 
The wealth for finest feting ; 

The wealth to blaze 
Through golden days 
To her own fullest sating, — 

To whim accursed 
By mother nursed 
Who managed the alliance, 

Fair Lillian said 
She would not wed 
But disregard affiance, 

From Leon turn, 
Who soon would learn, 
Her own act scarce regretting, 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 35 

In other face 
His hope to trace, 
His first love soon forgetting. 

This noble girl, 
For Fashion's whirl 
By mother false intended, 

In traits and lore 
Resembled more 
The father long ascended. 

And when she died 
• Who thus belied, 
The motherless, though weeping, 

Found still a voice 
That could rejoice 
In freedom from that keeping. 

Love's longing then, 
And inner ken 
Was quickened to discerning 



-6 STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

What great mistake 
The heart must make 
When from its true mate turning. 

Her guardian kin 
Vowed it " high sin 
That Lillian should love him. 

"Wretch, who pretends! 
For we, her friends, 
Are socially above him!" 

Grew Lillian brave ; 
No longer slave 
To Fashion's bold commanding, 

She valued worth 
More than high birth 
And more than social standing. 

One saddened year 
She rambled here. 
And homeward when returning 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 37 

She dared to say, 
"Their cruel sway 
Henceforward firmly spurning, 

" Some day I'll wed 
Him whom I said, 
In answer to his pleading, 

" From me should go. 
Ah day of woe ! 
When I, in that false leading 

*' Subservient kept, 
As Leon wept. 
Could crush his heart to bleeding!" 



The morn returns 
And kindly burns. 
Its silver splendors playing 



38 STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

On eastern hills, 
Whence happy rills, 
The river's call obeying, 

Flowed singing sweet, 
In vale to greet. 
When first the murk was graying, 

One breaking rest, 
To come in quest, 
Ere children came for Maying, 

Of choicest flowers, 
In field and bowers 
So sweet that angels straying 

To earth, to ken 
The ways of men. 
Therein protract their staying. 

The bloom to get, 
And hoping, yet, 
Angels, this morning, tarry, 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 39 



She comes to pray 
They right words say, 
That she the words may carry. 

When she shall go, 
E're noontide glow, 
To cheer a heart so chary 

She must be brave 
Who thinks to save. 
And gentle as a fairy, 

With right address, 
Who seeks to bless 
The one from griefs so wary 

He would suspect. 
In friend direct, 
A foe, and quickly parry 

Faith's very deed 
His heart should need 
To lift him from his grieving 



40 STANZA AND SEQUEL, 

At words she sent 
And would repent, 
With tears and full retrieving. 

Thus she relates; 
In arbor waits 
Angelic one, receiving. 

Through perfumed air, 
Her earnest prayer, 
And then, a message leaving, 

Toward the skies 
Doth grandly rise. 
His way with bright wing cleaving. 

The angel flown ; 
And when alone, 
The flowers with laurel twining, 

Their truth to tell. 
Doth Lillian dwell 
Glad on his words, designing 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 41 



Those words to heed, 
When she shall read, 
Their truth in full divining. 

And, dulcet one, 
At yester sun, 
Whom I heard joyful flinging 

Thy carols high, 
From earth to sky, 
As welcome message bringing, 

Fly speeding back 
Thine azure track 
To him whose grief is clinging, 

A bird austere. 
Raven of fear, — 
But it shall flee thy singing. 

Bird of sweet song. 
Fly swift along. 
And fly with bravest winging 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

Of bird whose word 
Might be inferred 
Would set these bright hours ringing! 

As breaks the day, 
Bird, speed away. 
And herald her whose cheering 

His heart shall reach, 
And winsome teach, 
And aid to cease his fearing. 

Now to his eyes 
What glad surprise ! 
Is angel form appearing? 

Doth most it seem 
Or true or dream ? 
A maiden bravely nearing! 

And her whose doubt / 

Had cast him out, 
What time the critics, sneering, 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 43 

Increased the need 
Of kindly deed 
And brave words, and endearing! 

And doth she bow? 
Denouement now ! 
Though tremulous with feeling 

She hath no song, 
Till for her wrong, 
Her sad heart full revealing, 

Before the man 
Whom she gave ban, 
She bows in humblest kneeling, 

Pouring her tears. 
Pale with her fears 
And most sincerely praying : 

"For wrong to thee 
Wilt pardon me, 
Who merit but thy saying 



44 STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

" I haste away ? 
If that thou say, 
Mine be the sad obeying.** 

And Leon, now : 
"That some should vow 
And plot their worst to hurt me, 

" It was not strange ; 

But that thou change 

And cruelly desert me, — 

" The cup of woe ! 
It saddened so 
As almost to convert me 

"From buoyant mind. 
To faith inclined. 
To doubt's extremest madness ; 

"That who decreed 
My art should lead 
To grandest heights of gladness 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 45 



"Thy happy heart, 
Should act the part 
To fill my heart with sadness,- 

"Ah! bitter fate! 
Most sad estate ! 
But I have seen thy sorrow. 

''Thou askest me 
To pardon thee, 
Nor future moments borrow; 

"But sayest condign, 
If I incline 
To wait till some to-morrow. 

"The time is now 
While thou dost bow; 
And here, this hand extending, 

"I bid thee rise 
And see the skies 
Benign above us bending. 



46 STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

"Their peaceful blue, 
With golden hue 
Of early sunbeams blending, 

"And pleasant breeze 
In budding trees 
Yon happy hills adorning; 

"And waterfall, 
And bird, and all 
The melody of morning, 

" Bid thy hope live. 
When thou dost give 
Thy worship for thy scorning!" 

Brave in her tears. 
Brave through her fears, 
And brave when came his blessing; 

Before him brave 
Who pardon gave 
Full as her grand confessing, 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 47 

Doth Lillian true 
Give honor due, 
Brave Leon thus addressing: 

"Thou truest man 
Since time began, 
And truest of the living, 

"My joy how great. 
When fit thy hate, 
I have thy full forgiving ! '* 

No need to dwell 
And frigid tell 
Of every day he missed her, 

Since morning gray 
Of that sad day. 
The last day that he kissed her. 

One word to say, 
Her bravest way 
With love his spirit firing. 



48 STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

That one word " Come ! " 
With him at home, 
This is her song inspiring; 

" Supremest bliss ! 
From thee a kiss — 
Thy love with my relenting! 

"Safe in thy arms, 
Thy soul's high charms 
To pay for my repenting! 

"Wilt thou my lead 
Across the mead, 
To bower yon pleasant glade in, 

"That I may tell. 
In that dear dell. 
The message first essayed in 

"The charming place 

" Where heaven gave grace. 

When earnest I had prayed in 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 49 



"The happy bower 
Of winged power, 
The bower the angel stayed in 

"Who spoke the words 
That sing like birds, 
To cheer the heart of maiden, 

" Who leadeth there. 
With tender care, 
Leon with laurel laden ? " 



For him but shame, 
Whate'er his name, 
Whose dark soul must discover 

A snake beneath 
The maiden's wreath 
Wherewith she crowns her lover I 



50 STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

Her tender talk 
On that sweet walk 
O'er which the angels hover, 

Words from a heart 
From sin apart 
As white-robed hosts above her, — 

Who evil sees 
In joys like these. 
And pours his righteous spurning,— 

Who thinks a knave, 
Or foolish slave, 
The suitor patient learning 

Love's art, which few 
Give study due. 
And laughs at love's deep yearning,- 

' Count him near hell, 

Where'er he dwell, 
A hell within him burning 1 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 5 I 

The sweetest word 
Earth ever heard, 
How some delight to sneer it! 

Sweet word of love ! 
From joys above 
The angels come to hear it! 

And poise in air, 
With choicest care, 
To hear the song, as near it 

As doth behoove 
Those come to prove 
When others' vows endear it. 

And heavenly grace 
Illumes the face 
As love from grief doth clear it, 

And throbs the heart 
As love's quick art 
Rids of the doubts that sear it! 



52 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

How grand the truth, 
Love giveth youth 
To him who knows its meaning ! 

To him the sands 
Of desert lands, 
With flowers and grasses greening, 

Are fresh with gales 
In which joy sails 
Have happiest careening 

On sparkling springs, 
O'er which bright wings, 
In happy host convening. 

Pour gladdest song 
The hours along, 
Their music grandly swelling, 

Minstrelsy sweet, 
For heaven meet. 
As birds a bliss were telling 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 53 

Above the worth 
Of joys of earth, 
Their song the thought compelling, 

Each songster's ear 
Did anthem hear 
Of those in Eden dwelling! 

Ethelbert. 
Exquisite song, Horatius, 

Of joys I have not known; 
The music of thy numbers 

The sadness shall atone, 
Or lessen it, and aid me 

To wish, for others, bliss; 
And if it make unselfish, 

High worth in song like this. 

Horatius. 
Though none have heard 
What angel word. 
By Lillian's lips repeated, 



54 STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

To Leon gave 
Power to be brave, 
Nor saw the kisses meted 

That told their love, 
Thou bird above 
The bower where they are seated 

Dost sing to tell 
How fit and well, 
A-t Metawampe, greeted 

The fair and strong ; 
And 'twas thy song 
That aided Leon's wooing, 

And taught that best 
Is bravest quest 
In any kind of suing. 

Soar not away, 
But longer stay, 
Thou bird of bravest winging; 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 55 



With roundelay 
Still cheer the day, 
Thou bird of sweetest singing. 

Thy gentle eyes 
Are fit to prize 
The sacred ties 
Declared by their caresses, — 

Him wreath-entwined ; 
Her head reclined, 
As heaven designed. 
Upon the heart she blesses ; 

She gazing sweet 
To eyes that greet 
The orbs they meet 
With richest lustre, beaming 

From eyes of dove, 
To speak his love 
For her, above 
All others, lovely seeming 



e6 STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

To him addressed, 
By her he blessed, 
"As, noblest, best. 
Beyond her fancy's dreaming !" 



My friend, 'tis worst 

That ever burst 

From lips accursed! 
The lie by cowards stammered 

By fools, who prate, 

Love is a fate 

To enervate. 
The man with soul enamored 
Of soul worth, and attracting, 
By his majestic acting 

And equipoise. 

One who employs 

The high decoys 
Of maiden's choice designing. 
Whose soul, his worth divining, 
Attracts his soul, for twining 

Love's tendrils strong, — 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 57 



To him belong, 

Above my song, 
Congratulations grandest. 
And thou who understandest 
Such joys, by not possessing 
The unspeakable blessing 
Of love's returned caressing; 

Ethelbert, tell 

Me thou wilt well, 

Until life's close. 

Endure thy woes ! 

That other ban 

Of mortal man, 

That fate the worst 

That ever cursed 
For cowardice in suing, 
For treachery in wooing, 
For any wrongful doing; 
Or came to heart despairing 
Of ever rightly pairing. 
And wedding, so, uncaring; 

That fate he wins 

Whose heart begins 



eg STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

The married life unmated — 

That thou art not thus fated, 

Thou art congratulated. 

Of all woes this life giveth, 

His worst who wedded liveth 

With one his worth unknowing, 

Whose soul, nor grand nor growing, 

Pretends, as such will, ever, 

Each manliest, best endeavor 

To think and live sublimely 

A rash act and untimely, 

The proof of cheap vanity, 

Or sign of insanity! 

Truth all too little rated, 

'Tis hell to wed unmated! 

But blest the man 

Whom Lillian, 

By angel plan. 

Shall save from ban. 

Ethelbert. 
Thou speakest well, Horatius; 
Wilt thou thy theme pursue? 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 59 

And with the heavens to favor, 
Thy comrade will live true. 

Horatius, 
With gentle hand, 
In fairy-land, 
To thoughts sublime she led him; 

With grandest views, 
And nectar dews, 
And heavenly fruitage, fed him ; 

From field and sky 
And mountain high 
Inspiring lessons read him ; 

With tender art. 
From her true heart, 
A sincere promise said him ; 

Naming a day, 
A month away, 
A happy day to wed him — 



6o STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

A day that came 
With sweetest flame 
The Orient ever lighted, 

To signalize 
The golden ties 
Of loving hearts united; 

Day sweet with airs 
That banished cares 
And to high thoughts incited ; 

Day spanned with blue, 
The whole day through, 
As if all wrongs were righted, 

And sang the lark 
Till all birds dark 
Had flown from earth affrighted ! 

At morning hour, 
In Lillian's bower, 
With chosen friends attending, 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 6l 



Two clasping hands, 

To speak the bands 

Their lives in union blending:! 



•to 



While hovering nigh, 
From amber sky, 
Are angel harpers waiting, 

With high delight 
In holy rite 
In which two hearts are mating. 

The service done, 
The surpliced one 
In fitting words addressed them ; 

Calm in his bliss 
Leon gave kiss, 
And kith and kindred blessed them ; 

While brooks kept tune 
With birds of June, 
Mid apple blossoms seated, 



62 STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

And birds from perch 
Of beech and birch 
The lovely Lillian greeted, 

And rose acclaim 

To Leon's name, 

At Metawampe meted, 

By every voice 
That could rejoice ; 
And flowers the choicest growing, 

The twain to greet, 
Sent odors sweet 
By every zephyr blowing. 



Ethelbert. 
Ennobling, still, the anguish 

That must be mine when told. 
Wherein, for me were ashes, 

Others found shining gold. 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 6^ 

Horatius. 
Twelve months, the morn 
A child is born, 
The gods to earth consigning 

A lovely boy, 
Sweet pledge of joy, 
The graces well combininp^ 

Of him who heard 
The singing bird. 
And her love's wreath entwining. 

Benign their sky, 
As years go by, 
Each marked with heaven's blessing, 

And dawns the day. 
Sweet in the May, 
When angels come confessing. 

To parents blessed 
With baby guest. 
That angel, in caressing 



64 STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

Her cherry lips, 
The nectar sips 
Finer than that provided, 

From sweetest flowers 
Of heaven's bowers, 
For gods when they decided 

The questions great 
In human fate, 
By Jove to them confided. 



Their love kept new, 
For each soul grew. 
And each the other aided 

Right things to know, 
To help each grow, 
And love's rose never faded. 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 65 



Each soul, each hour, 
Increased in power, 
Each by the other's doing, 

And each by own 
In grace was grown ; 
Their love each day renewing, 

Because, each day, 
Each soul could say. 
My soul's mate still is growing, 

My soul to prove 
With noblest love. 
Affection worth bestowing. 



Ethelbert. 
What words are thine, Horatius: 

'■^ Their love kept new^ 

For each soul grew, 
And each the other aided 



66 STANZA AND SEQUEL, 

^^ Right things to know, 
To help each grow, 
And love's rose never fadedP^ 

Horatius. 
Their honeymoon 
Did not end soon, — 
In truth it never ended. 

By Lillian traced 
With finest taste, 
In love's own picture blended, 

As Leon's due, 
Her soul's rich hue, 
To bless the man she mated; 

To whom there came 
Abundant fame. 
And he, as artist feted, 

Still painted well * 
Both flood and fell. 
Nor heeded critics serving 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 67 



Their lavish praise ; 
Their proffered bays, 
Nor aiding nor unnerving, 

Reminded yet 
Of venomed threat. 
The fullest scorn deserving. 

Their biting sneers 
Of other years. 
With present praise, neglecting, 

With verve and heart 
He plied his art; 
Some heavenly guide directing 

His paintings made 
Of highest grade; 
And for the full perfecting 

Of noblest one 
His hand begun. 
He came, the canvas bringing, 



68 STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

From distant town ; 
And where came down 
The angel, and the singing 

Of sweetest bird 
He ever heard, 
To aid him, still seemed ringing 

From every bird 
That now he heard 
Their happy carols flinging, 

Made it complete, 
In arbor sweet, 
Where pleasant sunbeams strayed in, 

And glinted round 
The grassy ground 
Of bower two children played in: 

While happy there. 
In sweet May air, 
The mother, erst the maiden, 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 69 



Recalled the day 
She came to pray- 
In bower the angels stayed in. 

Then choicest flowers 
From field and bowers, 
The advent there divining, 

Fair maidens bring, 
And sweetly sing, 
On Lillian's brow entwining 

Arbutus bloom 
With rare perfume. 
The best of heaven's designing. 

Sweet breath of praise 
To God for rays 
From solar fountain shining ! 

Yet speaks it more 
Of scene of yore 
Whose influence, refining, 



yo STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

Shall teach to know 
High meanings glow 
On shore and shining river; 

Shall teach to read 
That wave and mead 
Reflect the Heavenly Giver, 

Whose lovely earth 
Hath greater worth 
Than that it seems possessing; 

A hidden good, 
Well understood 
By thoughtful minds, and blessing 

Who would discern, 
With power to learn, 
The truths their souls addressing 

In all things made. 
Of every grade ; 
From spray of tiny fountain 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 7 1 

To surging sea ; 
From wind-swayed tree 
To storm-defying mountain ! 

Ethelbert. 
The truth in thy sweet singing 

I love to hear thee tell. 
The present of thy heroes ? 

Thou must have known them well. 



Horatius. 
A year to stray, 
Embark to-day 
The two so nobly mated. 

Kind be the gale 
That fills the sail 
Of ship so grandly freighted. 

Zephyr that fanned 
The fairy-land 
Where Leon won his blessing; 



72 STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

Benignant breeze, 
Seek thou the seas, 
The good ship caressing 

That it behave 
Faithfully brave, 
The roughest waves defeating; 

Avoiding rocks, 

And through the shocks 
Of storms in safety fleeting. 

And breeze the best 
That ever blest 
A wanderer returning. 

In safety waft 
Whatever craft 
Keeps time with Leon's yearning 

To see once more 
His native shore 
And hear the carols ringing 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 73 



Of sweeter bird 
Than all he heard 
In foreign countries singing ! 



Ethdbert 
Delightful and inspiring, 

Shall linger with me long 
The scene at Metawampe, 

Depicted in your song ; 
A solace and a study, 

And influence as well, 
To keep the feet from straying 

And to right acts impel ; 
Significant and lovely 

As beams of morning are ; 
An oasis in life's desert ; 

In darkest night, a star. 

To guide and cheer Ethelbert, 
Who speaks his thanks to thee. 

And that the scene you sung him 
An omen prove to be, 



74 STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

There dawns a hope within him ; 

Though he cannot behold 
The good, the skies, to honor 

The story thou hast told. 
Will send, to prove the saying, 

" The dawn succeeds the nighty 
If thorns^ likewise the roses, 

And after wrong the right f^^ 

Horatius. 
Your thankfulness is cheering ; 

And 'tis high joy to sing, 
The more, if unto others, 

The song a solace bring. 
The sentiment pervading 

The Metawampe theme, 
To some, would seen a vision. 

And idle as a dream ; 
Yet I delight to keep it 

To cheer me, and inspire ; 
To give my inner being 
' Its light, and food, and fire ! 

[Horatius and Ethelbert rising and lookincj across the 
landscape, the former re'^umes speaking.] 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 75 

But who are those equestrians 

Who sweep along the plain, 
In easy undulation, 

Like billows of the main ? 
One seems a kingly escort, 

And queenly one who rides ; 
I wonder what, Ethelbert, 

Their coursing there betides ! 
Ethelbert, they approach us ! 

Can I believe my eyes ? 
My heroes gone to Europe, 

Give us a fine surprise. 

[The equestrians approach and dismount.] 

Horatius. 
Ethelbert ; Leon, Lillian. 

Lillian^ sotto voce. 
Ethelbert! that the name.? 

Horatius. 
I thought you o'er the ocean; 
But, glad to see you here, 



76 STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

I ask you, know my welcome 
Is hearty and sincere ? 

Leon. 
Our European ramble, 

Postponed until the sun 
His grand autumnal solstice 

In triumph has begun, 
We came, of course, to Berkshire, 

To spend the summer days, 
And study much on horseback. 

Or coach along the ways. 
An hour ago we neared you. 

Within this lovely grove ; 
A moment heard you singing, 

And toward yon mountain drove. 

Horatms. 
May I inquire the meaning 

Of Lillian's knowing look ; 
Why of the name Ethelbert 

She special notice took.^ 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. • 77 

Leon. 
Well mayst thou ask, Horatius ; 

And strange as romance seems 
Our meeting here in Berkshire, — 

Dramatic as our dreams ! 
And Lillian could tell thee. 

Though modest of her deeds. 
Why, in this unplanned meeting. 

Her eye such meaning reads. 

Lillian. 
The heavenly light from God's high throne 

Will answer all true praying. 
And tell us when, and with what care, 

The needed good conveying. 

We go with ever ready hand ; 

And if at once obeying 
The inner voice, we save from sin 

Who else had gone far straying, 

Our act shall bring us grandest joy, 
Above all song or story; 



78 STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

And better fame than heroes win 
On fields of martial glory! 

One morn I sought for special aid 

And heavenly direction, 
If spoiler try his power to WTeak, 

That I give prompt protection. 

That day I met one lured astray, 
Who seemed by hope forsaken ; 

Yet firm against the tempter's wiles, 
With not a>^ stray step taken. 

God helped me say, " My friend, let not 
Thy heart's pure blossom perish ! " 

And memories of that hour until 
Life's latest day I'll cherish; 

So bright its lustre glows at thought 

That faithfully I heeded 
The voice that heaven gave within, 

And spoke the message needed. 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 79 

A quick, glad cry, she seized my hand, 

And then, o'ercome, she fainted. 
The tempter fled; and then her voice, — 

"A maiden still untainted 

"Thanks her who saved from lasting shame 
The one who here confesses 
Her greatest fault, remembered long. 
Of scorning his addresses, 

"Who thought her more than all caressed 
By all the airs of morning; 
Then proudly she his suit denied. 
And greeted with cool scorning, 

"His humble prayer, that such as he, 
When weary years of waiting 
Had proven him, might then renew 
His suit, with hope of mating. 

"Tears of remorse these torrid years, 
And then so near descending 
The slimy depths where woman weeps 
In shame that has no ending! 



8o STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

''Oh, thou, the best of womankind. 
May woman worst present thee 
Her trembling thanks, and ask thee lift 
To Heaven, that must have sent thee, 

"These tear-burned eyes — to God's clear blue, 
In praise for fate averted ? 
But may I hope? will God forgive 
Her sin who thus deserted 

"The noblest one since time began, 
And gave the coolest spurning 
To his sweet words, that sang like larks, 
And now, to ravens turning, 

"With fiery beaks, in fiercest ire, 
Are in my spirit burning? 
What sequel sad of broken vows 
This desert heart is learning ! " 

And gazing sad, with tear-dimmed ken, 

On portrait held above her, 
She said, "I print one burning kiss, — 

Ah, my deserted lover! 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 8 1 

" My wrong to him has brought the grief 
Of which Ethelbert warned me ! 
If still on earth, wilt thou forgive, 
Ethelbert, her who scorned thee ? " 

[Ethelbert, who has listened with riveted attention, sinks, 
overcome with emotion.] 

Estelle ! — Horatius, hither ! 

Is this some fleeting dream ? 

Lillian, softly. 
He speaks her name ; how strange all this I 

'Tis God's own wisdom orders ; 
And we of earth seem coming near 

To heaven's very borders. 

Still lives Estelle, and he forgives 

For all those years of sorrow ; 
A thrilling scene perchance there'll be, 

When Orient brings the morrow; 

Or we may hear, to-day, the vow 
Among the Berkshire mountains, 



82 STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

Excelling song of bards and birds 
And sweeter than the fountains ! 

[Horatius, taking Ethelbert's hand.] 

Companion of my boyhood! 

Ethelbert^ rising. 
Tell me, before high heaven, 

If still on earth there lives 
The one of whom brave Lillian 

Her glowing picture gives; 
And, if she live, speak gently, 

That still remains on earth, 
Ethelbert, still her lover, 

To whom as nothing worth 
Seems all the happy summer, 

Nor aught the joyous spring, 
Which doth not to Ethelbert 

Her radiant presence bring. 

Lillian. 
Her home with us, her grief she tells 
To none but those who love her ; 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. §3 

In word and deed she lives discreet 
As God's own sky above her. 

She came with us, but keeps her name 

From all in Berkshire dwelling; 
With thee restored, she may forgive 

What I, to thee, am telling! 

[Addressing Leon.] 

Is that her voice? my Leon bring 

Thy lens, that thou descry her; 
For oft she strolls alone and sings. 

Where no one can espy her. 

Leon thy steed, and mine for her, 

Thou who wast ever knightly, 
Will act with care, and gently tell 

The grand denouement rightly. 

Ethelberff 
[As Horatius and Estelle approach.] 
My own Estelle, forever ! 

Ye birds your noblest song; 



84 STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

And sweetest brooks of Berkshire, 
The joyous strain prolong ! 

Estelle. 
Ethelbert ! ! 

Ethelbert. 
Estelle ! ! 

[After the greeting of the reunited lovers, Ethelbert addresses 
Horatius.] 

Horatius, thy prediction, 

" The dawn succeeds the night 1 

If thorns^ likewise the roses, 
And after wrong the right P^ 

Horatius. 
I cannot sing, Ethelbert, 

As high as you deserve, 
Who, through the fiercest trials, 

Displayed such royal nerve ; 
And, in these sudden blisses, 

Manly thine uncontrol ; 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 85 

While, through your features shining, 

The lustre of your soul, 
Wins all my admiration, 

My highest fancy fills. 
And charms more than the music 

Arising from the rills. 

Among the Berkshire mountains 

That murmur sweet along. 
And sing as if in heaven 

They learned the art of song, 
And were by Him commissioned 

Who made for service high, 
And perfected in singing, 

The minstrels of the sky ; 
By Him who spoke to being, 

Sweeter to sing than rills, 
My friend who loves to hear them, 

Among these Berkshire hills. 

Each one the other loving 

With fervency of heart, 
Each glowed to find the other 



86 STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

Rapt o'er the rhythmic art; 
But when we came to try it, 

You sang so much the best, 
I thought it would be fitting 

That my poor harp should rest. 
And yet my verse found favor. 

And yours was scornful thrown, 
As stuff for which no merit 

Could afterward atone ! 

Sadly you tore the parchment. 
When here the hills among. 

To leave no proof to mortals 
That you had ever sung. 

[Lillian, motioning Horatius aside, speaks to him ; after 
v/hich he returns and addresses Etheibert.] 

Revealing on revealing ! 

Excelling all our song, 
And Lillian has told me, 

As he is brave and strong, 
That I inform my comrade. 

Above the angel's word, 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 8/ 

A maiden in an arbor 

At Metawampe heard — 
Was sentiment of stanza, 

Upon a torn page read, 
Discovered when she rambled, 

Where intuition led, 

From Metawampe, hither. 

Among the Berkshire hills ; 
And here she found the singing 

Which all this romance fills, 
With most inspiring sweetness. 

And here how grandly fit 
That she repeat the stanza, 

In your own tracing writ. 
She bade me give the paper 

To him who wrote the verse ; 
And now we ask that Lillian 

The lucid lines rehearse. 

Lillian. 
^^ Reduce to fact your fancy ; 
Nor tarry till you do 



88 STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

Make real the ideal 

That God has given you^ 

Horatius. 
How strange the revelation ! 

What mortal would have kenned 
Such wealth of good resulting 

From verse by mortal penned ? 
An artist's fame and fortune, 

Domestic bliss complete, — 
Two lives of highest beauty 

With usefulness replete ! 
And here, perchance, Ethelbert 

Will other lines rehearse, 
To match those loved by Lillian, 

As beautiful and terse. 

Ethelbert. 
Most real the ideal, 

Least fact what most call fact; 
And, of ideal, most real, 

Ideal in an act. 

[Solicited by Lillian, Ethelbert continues.] 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 89 

When some kind voice tells thee plainly 

Of new building for thine hand ; 
And thou findest hindrance mainly 

In the strangeness of command 

Calling thee from routine labor 

In the wonted, humble, sphere. 
And thou fear'st from foe or neighbor 

An unkind or jealous sneer; 

Do not for such hindrance smother 
That sweet voice that speaks within ; 

Thou mayst find the foe turn brother, 
If thou manfully begin. 

And continue bravely doing, 

Work the angel bids thee do ; 
And, each day the work renewing, 

Thou shalt find it ever new. 

It shall charm like high romances. 
Gemming legends of old days ; 



90 STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

And, beyond thy farthest fancies, 
O'er wide plains, by untrod ways, 

Paths unknown to other leaders. 
Angel guide shall lead thee sure, 

For the gold and goodly cedars 
Which shall evermore endure, 

In the towers of consummation 

That shall "mark thy work complete, 
And attest the world's laudation 
Which thy shrinking ears shall greet. 

Fear not but for all these praises 
That Good Power shall well prepare, 

Who hath life in all its phases 
Under His benignant care ; 

For, by thorns and frequent crosses, 
Which thy heart shall fully test, 

Sad reverses and sore losses, 
If His wisdom thinketh best ; 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 9 1 

To true meekness He will hold thee, 

Still commanding thee, be brave. 
And obey injunctions told thee 

By the angel that He gave. 

And this angel shall sustain thee, 

Be the work or long or hard ; 
And the future shall explain thee. 

All that did thy work retard 

Was designed to bid thee stronger 
. Make the building of thine hand, 
Which, than time's duration longer. 
Through eternity, shall stand. 



Follow thine intuitions, 

They always lead thee right; 
In all of thine ambitions, 

Heed thou the inner sight. 

Whatever to that vision 
Seems duty for thee, do; 



92 STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

No matter what derision 

The doing leads thee through. 

And derision it will bring thee, 
Ere men shall understand, 

And their tardy praises sing thee 
Whom they had gladly banned; 

They who would joy to shame thee 
And chill thy heart with fright, 

Did not thy grit proclaim thee 
Superior to their might. 

Brave one, thine intuitions 
Shall always lead thee right ; 

In all of thine ambitions 
Heed thou the inner sight i 

Directed by that vision 

Thy duty bravely do ; 
The glow from thy decision 

Shall light and lead thee through. 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 93 

Whatever the monitions 

Thou hear'st within thee, heed ; 
That thou to have contritions 

May never know the need. 

The Father is forgiving, 

If thou repentest sin ; 
Yet most He loves that living 

Which hath no falseness in. 



Wanting fulcrum, wanting lever, 

Given heavy weight to lift ; 
Strong in faith, begin endeavor. 

There shall come to thee, the gift 

Of a heaven-designed appliance, 

By which thou shalt mountains move 

While beside thee, in alliance. 
There shall angels wait to prove. 

On more hindrances before thee, 
All their own celestial might; 



94 STANZA AND SEQUFL. 

And shall beam, benignant o'er thee, 
God's own sky of love and light ! 



Leo7i. 
Be these bright words our motto ; 

And now, if Lillian please, 
To mark events resulting 

From sentiments like these ; 
Will she, where lovely maples 

Delight our lodge with shade, 
Prepare a feast as royal 

As one for sovereigns made ? 
For wine thou hast no liking, — 

And who would wish for wine, 
What other drink were given. 

If poured by hand of thine? 

And, at that feast, Horatius, 
Perchance, will give a song. 

Announcing in sweet numbers 
That Love enduring long 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 95 



The trials of his patience, 

Doth added bliss receive 
For every cold refusal 

That made his spirit grieve, 
A song to date a wedding 

When fine October sun 
Shall speak the season fitting 

That lovers be made one. 



And if at Metawampe 

Our friends shall wish to wed, 
Will Lillian deck the arbor 

Where intuition led 
When erst she sought an angel, 

And where his hope begun. 
Who, but for her relenting. 

Had ever been undone .> 
Thou, Lillian, my consort. 

Though years have made me gray. 
And thou hast locks of silver, 

Thou art, as on that day, 



g6 STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

My joy, my inspiration ; 

As beautiful as beams 
That gild the hours of morning 

Or sparkle in our dreams ; 
As young as at that meeting 

When thou didst say, " forgive ; 
And I, for thy relenting, 

Could bid thy hope relive ; 
The hour when smiling heaven 

Gave token in thy kiss. 
Initial fit, and foretaste. 

Of these bright years of bliss ! 



And with the words uniting 

Their hearts in golden bands, 
Shall they, as our companions, 

Embark for foreign lands; 
To thread the glens of Scotland, 

And climb the Alpine height; 
To linger in the castles 

That rose by feudal might; 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 97 

To pluck delicious clusters 

From vine-clad hills of France ; 
And muse where classic ages 

The interest enhance 

In Italy's rich landscape, 

And her delightful skies ; 
And then, returning hither, 

Find much to love and prize 
In this good land, where nature 

And liberty unite. 
To furnish those devoted 

To freedom and the right 
Fit home, with room for growing 

In all that makes men great, 
And elevates a people, 

And unifies a state. 

[Lillian and Ethelbert depart on horseback to the lodge, and Leon 
addresses Estelle, who tarries with Horatius.] 

Truth worth the telling, such as poet true 
Doth sing, is only found by patient search 
In realm beyond the bounds of earthliness, 



98 STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

Accessible to him alone, whose heart, 

Of selfishness divest, and well refined, 

Can be that brave it must, to study close 

As will to him reveal truth's treasures, hid 

Therein, and evermore, to selfish ones. 

E'en were they, unregenerate, permit 

That realm to range. Fell foe is selfishness, 

To bard, permitting him no bravery 

To journey to that realm he seeks afar, 

And quenching insight clear that sees the truth j 

And that dread enemy, once slain, 

Often revives again to vex ; and he 

With grandest powers of song, may have within 

An equal enemy, and know it not. 

How happy he, if faithful friend shall see, 

And of that foe, to his convincing, tell. 

And fortunate, beyond compare, to him. 

If woman is that friend, whose love for him, 

Enlightens her to see how strong that foe, 

And aids her in the discipline upon 

His heart which shall the enemy expel; 

And aids that, then, with tears sincere, she beg 

To bow before the man she loves ; and he, 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. 99 

Protesting 'tis high privilege to him 

That she beside him sit, shall gratefully 

Admit he is her debtor evermore, 

For discipline severe which all his worst 

Self conquered, that his best might live and sing \ 

Estelle, possessor of that poet's heart 

And soul, whose coinage and whose breathing was 

The sentiment, in living which high truth 

Did Lillian all doubt and selfishness 

Expel my heart; inspire with bravery. 

And teach me patience with myself, that sought, 

In practice of his art, the tracery to do 

The artist's work, that gave my heart its joy 

And brought me all my wealth of fame an|d friends ! — 

Thou, wise and good, what words of mine, to thee 

Shall tell the deep solicitude that thou, 

By love assigned to keep his heart, and thence 

To drive his enemy, that thou shalt see 

This work is thine to do ! What words shall tell 

The joy that springs from full belief that thou 

Wilt thus interpret meaning grand of these 

Events, and well thy work will comprehend ; 

And for that mission high, Ethelbert wed ! 



lOO STANZA AND SEQUEL. 

Estelle, 
Thou spcakest, Leon, as from heaven, the words 
That I shall prize, and evermore shall heed ! 
Shed, sweetest skies, your loveliness divine. 
To temper well this heart ! and Spirit, Thou, 
In Heaven, regnant high, yet noting all 
Thy children's cries ; to me all meekness give, 
And courage, that I well endure upon 
My bleeding heart, the blows thou biddest that 
My hand inflict, a better, truer man 
To make that one I love as life itself ! 

Leon. 

Right nobly done, thy sentiment ! and now 

The language, high, thy lover penned long years 

Ago, and words my heart in faith adopts : 

" Reduce to fact your fancy ; 

Nor tarry till you do 
Make real the ideal 

That God has given you'' 

And thus, Ethelbert, blessed, refined, inspired 
By thee, and growing by his work, shall learn, 



STANZA AND SEQUEL. lOI 

And all who shall his song admire will read, 

In their own bettered lives his song has blessed, — 

Still further sequel, grand, of truth he sung 

In verse the critics, cursing, thought to kill ! 

[Leon and Horatius start for the lodge, leaving Estelle to 

follow with Ethelbert who has returned and 

addresses her] 

Estelle, thy steed awaits thee, 

Eager to own thy rein 
And amble, at thy bidding, 

Like zephyr o'er the plain ; 
Beyond the Housatonic, 

To glens among the hills. 
Where sparkle silver cascades 

And sing the happy rills, 
And where the lodge of Leon 

Affords an ample view 
Of scene, where, now, two lovers 

Pray heaven to keep them true ! 

[Estelle, with Ethelbert as escort, leaves the grove.] 



MISCELLANEOUS 



WHERE THE NOBLE HAVE THEIR COUNTRY.' 

ABOVE the grandeur of sunsets 
Which delight this earthly clime, 
And the brightest of the dawnings 

Breaking o'er the hills of time, 
Is the richness of the radiance 
Of the land beyond the sun. 
Where the noble have their countr}' 
When the work of life is done ; 



With the deep, mysterious problem 

Of their earthly life made plain ; 
All the bitter turned to sweetness, 

All the losses turned to gain ; 
And the new life's heavenly rapture 

Far exceeding griefs of this ; 
Earth's hard toiling all forgotten 

In the restfulness of bliss ! 



io6 "bright on your native hills." 

And the music of their welcome, 

From angelic lyres of gold, 
Shall full often be repeated, 

Yet it never shall grow old ; 
Music grander than earth's noblest, 

Than alj eloquence of words, 
And the sweetest of carols 

Of the gladdest of the birds ! 



'BRIGHT ON YOUR NATIVE HILLS.' 

BRIGHT on your native hills 
The sun benignant beams. 
Perennial down the pleasant slopes 

Still sing the happy streams, 
Which feed yon river's tide that flows 

In beauty through the vale ; 
Transparent, purling brooks 

Which sing of springs that never fail 
And grand the mountains stand, as erst, 



"bright on your native hills.' 107 

When there your kindred dwelt, 
And fresh the mountain winds as airs 
Their fields and forests felt. 



And ye remain to keep their homes, 

And guard the noble name 
Earned by their share of those grand deeds 

That give New England fame. 
Shines their example, still, as bright 

As beams the golden sun ; 
Flows still their influence as pure 

As mountain waters run. 
So cherish ye the fame they gained. 

And emulate their worth, 
Your names, when ye are gone, shall live, 

Perennial in the earth ! 



"SHE PLACED THE BITTER-SWEET.' 

(In remembrance of a noble family.) 



T 



O girlhood's home returning, 



She placed the bitter-sweet 
Within the grand old mansion, 
Where sunbeams shadows meet ; 

And there declared : " Henceforward 
Be kindness all my theme; 

With constant hand dispensing. 
The moments to redeem ; 

"Teaching, if I have suffered, 
I would the world be blest; 

Praying, if I have struggled. 
The weary have good rest. 

" I thank Thee, Heavenly Father — 
My name Thou hast kept sweet, 

And through these bitter trials. 
Hast kept my ways discreet." 



SHE PLACED THE BITTER-SWEET.' 

The silver tresses ming:lino; 

Her raven locks among 
Mean more than years ; they index 

Her heart's own sorrows wrung; 

Of which, most like, she tells not, 

So reticent of grief; 
As most like she hath suffered 

Too deeply for belief. 

Beyond that first revealing 
She speaks not of her lot; 

Hoping her many sorrows 
By earth be all forgot! 

To girlhood's home returning, 
She placed the bitter-sweet 

Within the grand old mansion. 
Where sunbeams' shadows meet! 



09 



ALWAYS WITH THEE. 

IN sunny days of childhood playing, 
When life was all one scene of Maying, 
And thou hadst not a thought of staying, 
God blessed thee then. 



Forgiving all thy youthful sinning, 
He helped thee to a manly winning 
Good triumphs o'er a bad beginning, 
And helps thee still. 



That, in the strife which ceaseth never, 
Demanding watch and warring ever, 
Thou do, by manliest endeavor, 
The victor be. 



THROUGH GRIEF. 

O GIVEN by fiends the gall to drink, 
And sweeter grown for all they send 
A kind and watchful Providence 

Will soon proclaim the ordeal's end ; 
Yet call thee not from earth above, 

But ask thee, wearied one, take rest ; 
And that thy restless eyes may close. 

Command that, from the roseate west. 
Angels reposeful influence sweet 

Pour forth, to give thy spirit calm, 
And others send, on zephyrs borne, 

To soothe thy troubled heart with balm. 

Angelic ones shall sentinel 

Thy rest, and fragrance waft, till day, 
Shall brightly break and bid thee, glad. 

Thy grateful orisons to pay; 
Refreshed, inhale the ambrosial air 

And walk beneath a happy sky, 



112 THROUGH GRIEF. 

Inspired, by carol of the birds 

And songs of brooks that murmur by, 

With faith that heaven will bless thy days, 
Each westering sun bring peaceful sleep, 

And every morn new evidence 

That angels tender watch-care keep ! 

Heroic sufferer, who hast borne 

The burden of a broken heart, 
Patiently, artlessly, and yet 

With all the dignity of art, 
While so intent to bless the world 

None knew what woes thine own heart had — 
Deep, bitter griefs, which, told above. 

Would make the heavenly singers sad, — 
Soon shalt thou learn the gracious truth. 

Through griefs and cares which here annoy, 
Heaven builds the path by which thy feet 

Shall reach the highest hills of joy ! 



TOO MANY HEARTS ARE SAD TO-NIGHT." 

TOO many hearts are sad, to-night, 
I may not dance to music light. 
They're sad from hunger and from pain, 
And sad from sin's polluting stain. 
Low down in cellars, up the stairs, 
Where freely pass the winter airs ; 
'Neath wretched shed, and in the street, 
Where pelt the piercing storms of sleet, 
Are pallid cheeks, and sunken eyes, 
And forms that never more may rise. 
Too many hearts are sad to-night, 
I cannot dance to music light. 
But some will wake, if moved aright, 
To noble purpose and brave deed. 
And nobly with their duty speed, 
Achieving full, complete success, 
While all the world, admiring, bless. 
All this, if now, right words I say, 



114 BLESSINGS FOR THE HELPFUL. 

While you with like companions gay, 
In dizzy waltzing whirl away ! 
Too many hearts are sad to-night; 
I will not dance to music light! 



BLESSINGS FOR THE HELPFUL. 

GOOD friend, if every one observ^ed 
The mandate to be kind, 
If all were courteous as thyself, 

And helpfully inclined, 
How bright a scene this earth would be, 

How light life's burdens prove ; 
How blithe, along life's rugged road. 
Would pilgrims singing move ! 

Sweet resonance of sparkling streams 
Would bless life's desert drear; 

And birds would sing, and flowers and fruit 
With fragrance fill the air ! 



THE FORTY-SECOND. 1 15 

There is no overestimate 

Of kindness to our kind, 
And brightest stars will bless the man 

To helpful ways inclined ! 



THE FORTY-SECOND. 

WHEN, erst, the nation was besieged 
By armed rebellious foemen, 
And peace had fled, and skies were dark 

With every direful omen ; 
And Lincoln, from the capitol, 
For aid so wistful beckoned. 
Not least among the men to march 
The Bay state's Forty-second ! 

Now that the din of war is done. 
And glad the war cloud's risen, 

They come with thought of camp and field. 
And of the rebel prison ! 



Il6 THE FORTY-SECOND. 

They gather here for hearty words, 

In kindly interest spoken, 
To make the bands of friendship strong, 

That never may be broken ! 



Should Treason arm again her hosts, 

To fill the land with trouble. 
Her deepest schemes of ill would prove 

An evanescent bubble ; 
For those brave men would rise again 

And march, with others like them, 
To capture all the rebel guns. 

And evermore to spike them. 



And, wishing you much earthly joy, 

And entrance late to heaven, 
I speak this sincere offering, 

In rhythmic numbers given. 
By one who deems it pleasant fame 

That he is welcome reckoned, 
A member, in good standing, with 

The Bay state's Forty-second ! 



THE CRITICS. 

THE wicked wish some critics have, 
And knack, and greed, to kill, 
May pass quite readily for taste. 
And evidence of skill ; 

But were there none to write a verse, 

Or paragraph of prose. 
How critics, then, would pass their time, 

Is more than mortal knows. 

They might ascend the upper spheres, 

To criticise the stars, 
And teach good manners and good sense 

To Jupiter and Mars; 

Then clip away old Saturn's rings 
And set him bounds to run ; 

Or venture near the solar fires. 
To regulate the sun ! 



Il8 THE RETORT. 

And should these critics go to Heaven 

Their joy would be to tell 
How saints might tune their harps correct 

And sing hosannas well ! 



THE RETORT. 

THESE lines to tell thee bards 
Who sing for all the listening land, 
And sages wise and famed, had named 

Felicitous and grand 
The verse on which thou didst 

Invoke an ignominous fate, 
And, with high scornful wrath, declare 
Unworthy of thy hate ! 



Then thou, with thy gray eyes 

Quick twinkling in their greedy glee. 

And rubbing thy cold palms, didst look, 
Expectant long, to see 



REMINISCENCES. 



Before thee, suppliant still, 

Thy victim bow in further prayer, 

And then his trembling form begin 
Dissolving into air! 

Instead, at equipoise, 

He gazed, awhile, in high delight 
On thy hard face, then left thee there^ 

All powerless in thy might! 
Although thou gav'st him joy, 

He does not thank thee for the bliss ; 
That verse, to thee, seemed lacking fire; 

Grim critic, say, does this? 



w 



REMINISCENCES. 

ESQUIRE SMITH AND OTHERS. 

E count above our common good, 



Selectest of our joys. 
Remembrances in those dear days 
When you and I were boys, 



I20 REMINISCENCES. 

And when, perfumed with clover bloom, 

Our early moments ran, 
And happy in the songs of birds 

We journeyed up to man. 

What other cure the world prescribes. 

By far the safest, best. 
Is glancing at our early days, 

Is retrospect and rest. 

From cares and crowds of urban life, 

From traffic of the town ; 
From wear\dng toil in dust and din. 

From griefs that weigh you down ; 

From present ill, and future dread. 

And all that fetters thee. 
Come to the country and the past, 

Be innocent and free. 

Review the scenes of early days 
With fondness and with care, 



REMINISCENCES. 121 

The neighborhood once all your world, 
And every object there : 

The jDansied yard, the slant well-sweep, 

And apple orchard near ; 
The ancient farm-house, broad and red. 

By many memories dear; 

The hay-field and the pasture wide, 

The fences by the lane ; 
The thick-leaved maples where you hid 

When pattered down the rain ; 

The road where erst the stage-coach ran, 

Which joyed you as it passed. 
The high coach set on thoroughbrace, 

And built to have it last ; 

The mountain road-way, steep and rough, 

On which you trudged to school. 
To " make your manners " and to learn 

Hard Colburn's sum and rule ; 



REMINISCENCES. 

The school-house near the beechen grove 
The neighboring lumber mill ; 

The home-made hand-sled, and the joys 
Of coasting down the hill ; 

The autumn woods and golden maize, 

And old Thanksgiving day ; 
The winter wood-pile at the door 

And drifts that choked the way; 

Strict Sundays at the hill-top church, 

Staid deacons in their pews, 
The preacher in his lofty place, 

Discoursing gospel news; 

And Sunday noons, with sermon done, 

And benediction said. 
When we, in that dear scripture class, 

"The word" together read. 

Wise counsel, then, the teacher gave. 
That angel of our youth, 



REMINISCENCES. 123 

If pointedly, yet tenderly, 
To carry home the truth. 

His sympathetic face dispelled 

Our bashfulness and fears, 
Glowed at recital of our joys 

And saddened at our tears; 

And fragrant will the memory be 
Of our devoted friend. 
Till that good town and all of earth 
In nothingness shall end! 

And one was in that Sunday class 

Who felt a call to preach, 
And proved it true by saving those 

Whom others could not reach. 

With men on every hand who wished 

The gospel plan explained. 
He did not tarry long at school, 

Nor wait to be ordained, 



124 REMINISCENCES. 

But went to work, with earnestness, 

And strove his best to win 
Some trophy for the Lord he loved, 

By leading those from sin 

Who near him dwelt, and whom he thought 

In value quite the worth 
Of those who lived across the seas, 

In corners of the earth. 

The hamlet school-house where he preached 

To half a hundred men 
Would hardly hold the throngs his words 

Have won to grace since then. 

Unlike ambitious pulpiteers 

Who preach and pray for fame. 

He did not seek the praise of men, 
Nor glory when it came ; - 

But, stronger grown with his success, 
Nor vain amid applause, 



REMINISCENCES. 

He keeps his great and growing powers 
Devoted to his cause. 

Another of that Sunday band 

Has lived for self alone, 
And reached, at last, the height, he sought, 

The politician's throne. 



Ambitious man of place, the years 

Of innocence review. 
And see how far your selfishness, 

From righteous ways and true, 

Has led you on, through doubtful schemes 

And crooked paths, to power 
Which founded seems, but which must fail 

When comes the trial hour, 

And leave you naught but bitterness 
And keen remorse for ways 



126 REMINISCENCES. 

At variance with the pleasant scenes 
That gem your early days. 

Among the quaint habitues, 

Whose words the hamlet cheered, 

Welcome at huskings and the "bees," 
The story man appeared. 

Glad on their journey to the school. 
The pupils heard him tell 

Of famous men who once were boys 
And learned their lessons well. 

And were quite sure to reach at last 

A place at Washington, 
Where many mighty laws were made, 

And other things were done ! 

Although you little knew or dreamed 
What were the "other things," 

Have you until to-day remained 
Quite innocent of " rings .'*" 



REMINISCENCES. I27 

The other school tasks done, you said 

" Set " answers, that were given, 
Anent some worthies then on earth, 

And others gone to heaven. 

With veneration you pronounced 

The ancient Briggs's name, 
But have you copied in your life 

His honest steps to fame ? 

The shed remains wherein you sawed 

The beech and maple wood. 
Where cart and farming tools were kept, 

And where that grind-stone stood 

Which brings to you sad memories 

Of axes hard to grind. 
And, in hot days, the scythe, to try 

The temper of your mind ! 

Often you vowed, when older grown, 
Machinery should serve 



128 REMINISCENCES. 

To do the work that over-taxed 
Your adolescent nerve. 

But other themes than labor aids 
Have moved your mind since then, 

And you have had your axes ground 
By various sorts of men ! 

You must recall quaint "Major" Brown, 

Who led a roving life, 
Since, years before, death claimed the girl 

Pledged for the "Major's" wife. 

And you remember when they laid 
This " Major " Brown to rest, 

That reverent, near the open grave, 
The neighbors kindly pressed; 

While all the failings of his life, 

In pity, were forgot. 
And all his worth was magnified. 

With worth that he had not ! 



REMINISCENCES. I29 

Although, to-day, you feel above 

Such broken men of grief. 
So "great" they ought to prize the pence 

You dole for their relief ; 

When, at the coming call of death. 

You journey out of town ! 
Will people think as well of you 

A§. erst of "Major" Brown? 

Ambitious man of place, the scenes 

Of innocence review, 
And once again return to walk 

In righteous ways and true. 



This selfish one let us dismiss, 

He cannot flourish long ; 
And we can find more fitting theme 

To chronicle in song, 



130 REMINISCENCES. 

In that delightful scene, when you, 
At spring-time, on the hill, 

Entranced to see the liquid wealth 
From maple trees distill. 

And, that it might the sweeter grow, 
Sing, o'er the laughing fire, 

A carol sweet as ever breathed 
From angel lip or lyre, 

Found finer charm in liquid eyes 

Of two most lovely girls, 
Whose happy smiles and ruddy cheeks, 

And innocence and curls. 

Were invitation that you dish 
For them the waxen sweet, 

And in return, for recompense, 
Their lips with kisses greet ! 

One was a cousin, I believe; 
The other was a friend 



REMINISCENCES. 131 

Whom afterwards you vowed to love 
Till earthly days should end. 

And now the keepsake that she gave 

Is moist with tears you shed, 
To think, before the wedding day 

Your pleasant friend was dead! 



By road whereon the stages ran, 

Not far away, the place, 
Wherein, of old, as " leading man," 

With more than usual grace. 

There reigned Elnathan Smith, Esquire, 
Who lived, through all his days. 

For morals, manners and attire. 
Deserving sincere praise. 

Smith spurned a miser as a thief, 
And acted "on the square;" 

And those not Masons have belief 
That Smith had once "been there." 



132 



REMINISCENCES. 

Attending church in holy time, 

As every body should, 
He " joined" in prayer and Sunday rhyme, 

As pious people would. 

Smith kept his temper all the while 

Unmarred by frown or fret, 
And gave a penny and a smile 

To every child he met. 

He had good sense and ready wit, 

And kept whate'er he heard 
That was for keeping really fit, 

And always kept his word. 

To patriotic teachings true. 

He deemed of highest worth. 
And kept, as most of Smithville do, 

The " great and glorious Fourth." 

Smith had a clear, unbiased mind, 
And, such the town's desire, 



REMINISCENCES. 133 

The governor felt well inclined, 
And made him village squire. 

He taught, ten terms, the district school 

In an adjoining place, 
Maintaining there a pleasant rule 

With dignity and grace. 

To Washington he never went, 

That town of high import ; 
Yet twice had been as juror sent, 

And once to General Court ! 

As Smith grew old he walked in town, 

On pleasant afternoons, 
Attired in garb of modest brown, 

And humming cheery tunes. 

And, with his full and steady breath, 

And face with health aglow. 
He seemed no older near his death 

Than twenty years ago ; 



134 REMINISCENCES. 

Yet Mister Smith has gone from earth, 

As every mortal must, 
Of noble or of lowly birth 

Unrighteous they, or just. 

His life, in Smithville which began. 

Closed there at eighty-four; 
And Smithville weeps that this good man 

Can be with them no more. 



Smith's life-long friend was Doctor Bliss, 

Who carried, everywhere, 
A smile, to cheer the sick and drive 

That worst of curses, care. 

Bliss loved Squire Smith, and looked like him, 

Clad trim in like attire ; 
Near him he lived, and when he died, 

Was buried near the squire. 



REMINISCENCES. 

Another friend of Mister Smith, 

Respected and revered, 
Was William Wilson, learned and wise, 

A teacher born and reared. 

The ancient school-house where he taught. 

For twenty years and more, 
Had but three windows on a side, 

And one above the door. 

It stood upon the village green, 
Hard by the " Center church ;" 

Was well supplied with furniture, 
But unsupplied with birch ! 

This Wilson had a better way 

To punish recreant boys. 
Who had been lazy at their tasks 

Or making needless noise. 

To them more dread than blows the book 
Wherein, with proper grade. 



135 



136 REMINISCENCES. 

For every wrong a pupil did, 
The fearful check was made ! 

With patience and with kindly care 

He led his pupils through 
The paths of common learning, till 

They every feature knew. 

And oft, perchance, they caught a glimpse 

Of classic grove and field, 
And felt a longing for the fruits 

Those pleasant regions yield. 

But Euclid and "the languages," 

In district schools of yore. 
Were all discarded and forbid, 

As very useless lore. 

Since Wilson gave up teaching school, 
Ten years and five have passed ; 

But through a century to come 
His influence shall last. 



REMINISCENCES. I37 



He still resides within the town ; 

And, though three-score and ten, 
The people all declare he is 

The comeliest of men. 



Not far away from Smith's abode 

The shop of Crispin Crane, 
Who furnished boots for Smithville folk, 

A livelihood to gain. 

Not only did he gauge their feet, 

But oft they came to find 
He fully had the power to take 

The measure of their mind! 

By timely repartee he stilled 

A most perplexing bore, 
Who perpetrated bitter jokes 

Within the Smithville "store." 



138 REMINISCENCES. 

And Smithville vowed, town meeting day, 

"Who can this pest defeat, 
We must elect him, here and now, 

To legislative seat." 

Crane proved a wise assembly man, 
W^as hearty with his friends. 

And never made a speech unless 
To compass worthy ends. 

It was this year in politics 

A party rose and fell. 
Whose bad disaster at their schemes 

It is a joy to tell. 

Late in the term a question rose 

This party called the test, 
For which their leader spoke at length 

With artificial zest; 

And, in his final flight, declared, 
" How favored is the land 



REMINISCENCES. 139 

Where, sentinels of public peace, 
Labor reformers stand!" 

'"Labor reformers'," Crispin spoke, 
" That means reformed from work ; 

And rightly named, for well you like 
Life's burdens all to shirk. 

"Below the wrath of common men; 

Too cheap for ours by half, 
We'll not oppose your plannings, but 

Explode them with a laugh !" 

The wit that beamed in Crispin's eyes, 

Put all in merry mood, 
As rang around the galleries 

A soul-refreshing " Good !" 

The gavel man forgot to rap, 

Reporters dropped their notes-, 
And when some one "the question " called, 

The measure had twelve votes ! 



I40 REMINISCENCES. 

And that's the way the party died, 
By this sarcastic Crane ; 

And hence the reason he was sent 
To General Court again. 

And still again was Crane returned, 

Until six times in all ; 
Nor by the lures of lobby men 

Did he from honor fall. 

Yet Crane does not love politics ; 

And, now, in private life. 
He glories in his leathern art. 

His children and his wife ! 



Let not the bards to whom belong 
High themes and lofty verse 

Despise, as all unworthy song, 
The lives these lines rehearse. 



REMINISCENCES. 141 



Though each lived in obscurity, 
Yet each was still a man ; 

As good on earth we seldom see, 
And better never can ! 



Though Smithville was so blest of heaven, 

To it one tedious thorn was given, 

A full "perfected" man of sin, 

Most surely who the purse could win, 

Did he and Satan run a race 

On any course away from grace ! 

Supremely mean in all his deeds, 

His heart as hard as flint ; the needs 

Caused by his extortions moved him not ; 

The pining poor were all forgot. 

Selfish, of marble face, and stern ; 

Full quick to sin, and apt to learn 

The ways of avarice and wrong; 

On primal sin improving long. 

He chose oppression for his art. 

And practiced it with all his heart; 



142 REMINISCENCES. 

His sinning cloaked with graciousness, 
And cursed when he appeared to bless ! 
He so gifted in causing tears 
Had fitting name — Abijah Beers. 
May God protect if here, again, 
So bad a man 'mong living men ! 
And there was not, since earth began, 
So much of meanness in a man. 
To find fit place for him to dwell, 
The liberals declared for hell ! 
He died at last as fools do die; 
Thistles thrive where his ashes lie ! 



WHAT IS SAID. 



Opinions of Henry W. Longfellow, Dr. J. G. Holland, Will 
Carleton, John G. Whittier and other poets, President 
Hopkins, President L. Clark Seelye and other educa- 
tors, James A. Garfield and other scholars, Bishop 
Simpson and other eminent divines, Charles Dudley 
Warner, and the press. 

Mr. Greene has always a song in his heart and a pleasant word for 
every body he meets. Poems in this volume which have won words 
of warm commendation from some of the acknowledged best authors 
of the day, take their sentiment and coloring from his blameless and 
busy life. The beautiful blending of the soul and song of the writer 
is seen in this extract from one of his poems : 

Live in the sunshine while you live. 
To all the sad your sunshine give, 
Live in the sunshine while you live. 

— Berkshire Courier. 

Mr. Greene stands, since Dr. Holland's death, without a peer as 
delineator of New England life and scenery. 

— Berkshire County (Mass.) Eagle. 
Mr. Greene never makes a mistake in the rhythm or music of his 
verse. " Bright on your native hills" is hearty, breezy and sweet. 

—Dr. J. G. Holland. 
May the muse of this poet of our valley long continue to sing. 

— Greenfield (Mass.) Gazette. 



WHx\T IS SAID. 



Mr. Greene has the poetic soul and uncommon talent for graceful 
and vigorous verse. 

— North Adams Tyanscript. 

It is well that, in an imitative age, when every singer has more or 
less of the mocking bird, Mr. Greene has held fast to his own 
arrangement of metres and tropes. He has a real poetic vein. 

— Springfield (Mass.) Republican. 

The friends of Mr. Aella Greene of Springfield, Mass., rejoice with 
him in the well merited encomiums which crown his muse with the 
fadeless wreath. Two of his happiest productions are characterized 
by Whittier as possessing "a true feeling of poetry and much 
rhythmical felicity." The chair of literature in a Scotch university 
contributes to his crown of rejoicing, and, mingling with these 
tenderly treasured encomiums, are the congratulations of governors, 
statesmen and divines, who refer to them, in so many words, as 
"above all price." 

— The Household. 

It is pleasant to know that Longfellow received with much cor- 
diality the poet, Mr. Aella Greene, and awarded to some of his later 
poems a very hearty meed of praise. In reading one of them, Mr. 
Longfellow said, " That begins well I" then, as he progressed, 
" That is fine !" His final remark, uttered with an earnestness that 
betokened his sincerity, was, "That is a good poem .^" "And that 
is good, too," was his equally hearty comment on another. What 
is particularly noteworthy, Mr. Longfellow expressed his pleasure in 
writing, and over his own signature-—" something," as he told Mr. 
Greene, " that I rarely do, even for my personal friends." Mr. Greene 
treasures the great poet's name, as well he may ; and it is in " goodlie 
companie," Whittier, Garfield, Mark Hopkins, Bishop Simpson, and 
others equally eminent, having likewise given words of the most 
cordial appreciation of Mr. Greene's poems. 

—New England Homestead. 



WHAT IS SAID. 



Mr. Greene's transcripts of country life in New England are even 
photographically correct. 

— Albany ( N. V.J Evening Times. 

Among the many commendations for Mr. Greene's poems, the fol- 
lowing from Will Carleton will have great weight : " There is in Mr. 
Greene's poems a peculiar sweetness of versification, a quiet and rest- 
ful philosophy, and a sweet progressive spirit pervading and 
symmetrizing each effort." 

— Spencer (Mass.) Sun. 

Mr. Greene has a mind which peculiarly combines the practical and 
ideal in life. His poems have been commended by the most dis- 
tinguished literary men in the country, including Longfellow, 
Whittier and Will Carlton. 

—Bellows Falls ( 11.) Times. 

We are glad to know that Mr. Greene of Springfield, Mass., has 
not dismissed his muse. His poems drive away melancholy and 
make the heart better. Several of them have received high compli- 
ments from such judges as Longfellow, Whittier, J. G. Holland and 
Will Carleton. 

— Vermont Union. 

Mr. Greene's poems have received many happy words of commen- 
dation from authors and critics whose praise is honor. 

— Holyoke Transcript. 
" Bright on your native hills" has the fragrance and the rich beauty 
of the New England landscape and rivulets of which it tells. 

Windham County ( ?'/.) Reformer. 
The poems disclose refinement and poetic gifts which must make 
the volume a source of delight to the reader. 

— The South. 

More and more the true poetic intuition. 

— Vermont Phoenix. 



WHAT IS SAID. 

** Mr. Greene knows how to dispense with superfluity, and his 
poems, severely simple and strictly true in thought and utterance, 
show genius and care, and breathe upon us the pure atmosphere of 
industrious, cultivated New England." 

— St. Albans ( P't.) Messenger. 

" Mr. Greene has a correct ear for rhythm, a hearty love for poetic 
truth ; and, what is best of all in these days of unfaith, a sweet 
religious belief underlies and unifies all he writes." 

— New Jersey Coast Pilot. 

Poetic gems. 

— Clinton (Afass.) Courant. 

Prof. J. W. Patterson of New Hampshire, the best literary critic in 
the Granite State, refers to Mr. Greene's rhythmic work as "real poetry 
\\\ thought and expression;" and concerning it that scholar statesman, 
the illustrious James A. Garfield, before he ascended " Where the 
Noble have their Country," made his estimate as "sweet" and 
"bright," giving the author permission to send these facts to the 
world coupled with the Garfield name. 

" Bright on your native hills" is an inspiration heaven-born and 
heaven-sent. 

—Rev. J. H. Williams, of Ohio. 

I welcome Mr. Greene's poems, as I do the rays of the sun, for 
their wholesome sweetness and cheer. 

— Rev. J. F, Gleason, of Connecticut. 

There is that in Mr. Greene's poems which commands the respect 
of every reader. 

—Rev. Dr. C. H. Farkhurst, of New York. 

Revealing uncommon poetic inspiration and expressing the 
genuine sympathy of the man with what is noble. 

— Fresident L. Clark Seelye. 



WHAT IS SAID. 

True poetic conception and poetic expression of a high order. 

—Rev. Dr. A. C. Osborn. 

His stanzas sing in the memory. 

— Rev. George E. Martin. 

Mr. Greene has a decided poetical gift. 

— Charles Dudley Warner. 

I congratulate Mr. Greene on receiving, from Mr. Whittier and 
others, commendations that are above all price. 

—Ex- Gov. William Claflin. 

In Mr. Greene's poems soul speaks to soul with music in its speech. 

—Judge William P. Strickland, 

•' Bright on your native hills," " Come, Happy Bird," and " Where 
the Noble have their Country," won my warm approval before they 
received that of the great bards whose verdict is indisputable. One 
may rest content when Longfellow, Whittier, and Holland approve, 
but I am glad to say, Amen. May Mr. Greene's next poem come 
soon, and may his last be long deferred ! 

—Judge W. S. Shurtleff. 



Concerning Mr. Greene's previous venture in verse " Rhymes 
of Yankee Land," a book noting persons and incidents in the 
valley threaded by the Connecticut River road and bright with 
the shining waters of the "sweetest stream that flows," a vol- 
ume issued in 1872, there were many praiseful words from 
press and people ; and the book ran through several editions, 
and became known far beyond the New England section of 
America, whose homes and hills furnished the originals of the 
characters and scenes. The Providence Journal found the work 
"unique, original and truthful," the Battle Creek (Mich.) Jour- 
nal noted " a rare rhythmical beauty " in the poems, the Berk- 
shire County Eagle found "merit of high order" and the Spring- 
field Republican^ St. Albans (Vt.) Messenger^ and thirty other 
journals spoke in the same strain. 



